Dreaming With My Dragon Lover

When Yuan Ge returned with a large bag of various snacks, Qiuchen had also selected a number of traditional snacks and sweets and was looking around at this brand new world curiously. The two then went to the main cooking ingredients section and picked up some rice, flour, oil and seasonings for cooking, as well as several dozen different kinds of soft drinks.

But Yuan Ge had no answer to Qiuchen's "how can you not drink alcoholic drinks during the New Year" argument. The wine and beer in the liquor section were obviously not to his liking, so Yuan Ge ended up having to buy a few jars of vintage packaged rice wine to appease the man who insisted on going to a proper "liquor shop" to buy alcohol.

The two finally made their way to the fresh produce section. Apart from eggs and milk, the boy insisted that the frozen and processed meats and other fresh produce in the supermarket were not fresh enough. They also searched all over the supermarket but could not find the Chinese New Year couplets and New Year paintings that Qiuchen had in mind.

"Can we just forget about the New Year paintings and stuff like that? To find this kind of thing, I guess we'll have to go to an old-fashioned marketplace to get them. I don't think they stock this sort of thing in supermarkets."

"Is there a real market? Why didn't you tell me about it earlier?"

Hearing Yuan Ge mention old-fashioned markets, Rong Qiuchen's eyes lit up.. Although today's large supermarket was a new experience for him, the tall shelves, endless merchandise, and crowded shopping trolleys were not a perfect substitute for the memories of a hundred years ago.

Faced with his expectant look, Yuan Ge gave in, "Alright, let's go find a farmer's market then. We haven't yet bought any of the fresh produce anyway."

The two men pushed two trolleys full of food and drinks to the checkout counter. Rong Qiuchen watched in amazement as the cashier scanned the barcodes rapidly, Yuan Ge just put his watch over and scanned it, then pushed the trolleys away.

While helping Yuan Ge load the shopping into the boot, Qiuchen whispered, "Childe Yuan, you must have spent a lot of money today since we have taken so many goods. Did you buy these things on credit and have to pay them back later?"

"Buying these things on credit? Of course not! Shopping is paid for in full!" Yuan Ge looked at him and pointed to his watch, "Making payment through a smart device, do you understand? Electronic payment system, do you understand? Banking and credit systems, do you understand?"

Rong Qiuchen shook his head in confusion.

"Then how can I explain it to you? Go back home and ask your Brother Puppet for the details. Now that you have reminded me, perhaps it's better to take some cash with me to the farmers' market. But then again, even farmers are starting to pay with their phones. You need to wake up fast! It's really no fun to cosplay someone from the past. It's very difficult for an ancient guy to live in the modern world..."

The two left the supermarket and drove to the largest Spring Festival market in the western part of the capital.

It was Yuan Ge's turn to be surprised to see the same crowded scene of people doing their New Year's shopping here.

"Wow! I haven't been to a farmer's market in years. I never imagined that such an old fashioned custom could not only survive but thrive so well in modern city life."

Rong Qiuchen, however, had finally felt at home. Without saying a word, he took Yuan Ge's hand and ran happily into the market. Although Yuan Ge didn't think it was appropriate for two men to wander around in a farmer's market hand in hand, he figured that if the boy got lost, he would have to go to a lot of trouble to find him, so he just let him be - no one was paying attention to them anyway since it was so crowded. Yuan Ge bought him a traditional tiger hat to wear, which made him look like a cute New Year's mascot.

When Rong Qiuchen first entered the market, he ran straight to the busiest place - the stalls selling New Year paintings and couplets were packed with people, and it seemed that there was no shortage of people following traditional Chinese New Year customs. He chose two large red lanterns and carried them in his hands, happy as a child.

"How could we not have such red lanterns at the entrance of Childe Yuan's residence? Even if it is not the New Year, having good feng shui at the entrance of a home is still important for any noble house to protect its peace and prosperity."

Seeing how happy he was, Yuan Ge didn't bother to ask him why his tastes always coincided with his mother's. He just followed him and silently paid for the things he fancied. But Qiuchen was not satisfied with many of the couplets and New Year paintings. After searching many stalls, he still could not find any that met his standard.

"Childe Yuan, how come none of these couplets and words of blessings are handwritten? How come the couplets written by today's scholars read so shallowly and the words are so clichéd? If you don't mind, I will write them myself when we return. I'm sure I can do a hundred times better than these. As for these papercut window decorations, they are also very ordinary. What a pity that I am not as good at this as my sixth and youngest brothers. I'm afraid that we will have to make do."

"My dear Mr. Rong Qiuchen, can we come to an agreement? It's fine to hang a pair of red lanterns if you like, but can we leave these couplets, words of blessings, papercut window decorations and the God of Wealth alone? Wouldn't it be strange to put these things on the door of a modern smart house like mine?"

"Isn't the New Year all about 'replacing old couplets with new ones'? Childe Yuan, it would be strange if you don't do that, wouldn't it?"

"Okay, okay, you go ahead and pick whatever you need, I'll just pay." Yuan Ge sighed silently, feeling that his willpower was definitely not strong enough to shake the deeply rooted traditional thinking in Rong Qiuchen's mind, and that the wise thing to do at times like this was to let him be.

"By the way, Childe Yuan, is the new calendar issued by the government available for sale here?"

"You mean the almanac, Chinese lunar calendar?" Yuan Ge smiled and showed him his smart watch, "What day of the year do you want to know? I've even got your zodiac sign and fortune telling here..."